Jim Carrey Biography

James Eugene Carrey, born January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, ONtario, Canada,(I USED TO LIVE THERE!!) began his comedy carreer at 15, at the Yuk Yuk’s comedy club in Toronto. He wasn’t very succesful then, but at 19, we was performing at comedy clubs in LA and was earning $200000 a year. From his first TV appearance on The Sex and Violence Family Hour in 1983, he has starred in, or even only appeared in various films and TV shows.

Jim Carrey’s Love Life

In March of 1987, he married Melissa Womer, and in September of that year, their daughter Jane was born. Due to long filming seperations, however, they legally seperated in 1993, and were divorced in 1995. In September 1996, he was obviously compleatly recovered, and he married his long-time girlfriend, Lauren Holly, who was also his Dumb and Dumber co-star.

James Eugene Carrey was born in New Market, Ontario on January 17, 1962. His father, Percy, quit his music career and sold his sax to get a steady job as an accountant to support his family. His mother, Kathleen, was always sick with a real or an imaginary disease. Jim found out at an early age that he could make people laugh. His Teacher made a deal with him that if he was good and did his work in the class she would give him five minutes at the end to perform. Jim would finish his work fast and spend the rest of the class preparing his act.

He then did a sequel to his hit Ace Ventura called Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls which did just as good, if not better, as the first one. His next movie, The Cable Guy which he got paid $20 million for, ended his streak of great movies. People were disappointed because it wasn’t a comedy. “The criticism of the Cable Guy really hurt because it wasn’t coming from the right place. It wasn’t ‘Jim Carrey’s work is not good’ it was ‘how dare he try something different?’” Jim said. But Liar Liar, his next movie, made up for it. It was a great success in the box office with a final gross of $178.29 million! He also married Lauren Holly while shooting the film. The couple filed for divorce ten months later. He has finished shooting the Truman Show, his next movie, and it will be released in 1998. The Truman Show is Jim’s first big screen drama. Jim’s life story is truly an example of the saying “Rags to Riches.” He went from scraping pubic hairs off toilets in a dirty old factory to one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.

Bizarre moment: Sending his resume to the Carole Burnett Show at age 10.

Adage: I don’t think anybody should go through life without a team of psychologists.

Medication: I’ve tried everything. I’ve done therapy, I’ve done colonics. I went to a psychic who had me running around town buying pieces of ribbon to fill the colors in my aura. Did the Prozac thing.

Worst film ever seen: Either The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes or Blood Beast from Outer Space.

Vacation site: Last seen leaving for two weeks to Fiji with his girlfriend, Lauren Holly.

Novel: Completely fascinated by metaphysical things and philosophy. Every book on self-help shelf along with inspirational novelists like Ayn Rand and C.S. Lewis.

Saying: Spewing.

Side-Line Job: Pet Detective.

New world philosophy: It’s nice to finally get scripts offered to me that aren’t the ones Tom Hanks wipes his butt with.

Jim Carrey Facts and Trivia

Jim Carrey has confessed that he can’t stop joking even in bed!
“I’ve often slipped into silly voices while pumping away,” confesses Carrey. “Some women just ask for them I presume it must be some kind of kinky turn on.”
And he revealed: “One time I was just getting to the crucial point and the girl whispered in my ear ‘Do Kermit for me, baby.’
“I pointed out that Kermit was a puppet and for that to work she would have to stick her hand up my backside. Ah, happy days.”

The Larry Sanders’ Show
After leading the crowd in a chant to persuade Larry to stay, Jim Carrey, special guest of the Larry Sanders’ Show, in May 1998, sang an over-the-top farewell song of his own, collapsing in Larry’s arms as the crowd applauded wildly and appreciatively. That was a great comic moment – but then, during the commercial break on Larry’s show, Carrey provided a great dramatic moment as well. Remembering that Larry wouldn’t book him before Carrey became a big star, Carrey told Larry he was appearing on the final episode only to promote his new film. Then he leant in to Larry, sneered and whispered: “What are you going to do next? I’ll crush you!” “Are you doing a bit now?” Larry asked, clearly uncomfortable. “Larry, we’re off the air”, Carrey shot back. “This is real life now.”

The Truman Show Preview
Even if The Truman Show was on every American theatres on June 5, 1998, people who partecipate at the benefit dinner for The American Heart Association of New Jersey could see an advanced screening of the film at the Sony Theatres in Ridgefield Park, in New Jersey on June, 4.

Jim Carrey And The Whale
Jim Carrey was nearly upstaged by a mammal while filming his romantic beach scene with Natascha McElhone in The Truman Show. Between takes, a whale, still spouting, came a little too close to the Malibu beach. “It was enormous, with a fountain coming out of its head,” says McElhone. “Jim loves that stuff.” In fact, Carrey quickly ad-libbed the line, “Can I have one pizza, extra plankton?”

Jim Carrey The Walrus
In My Life is a compilation of Beatles’ songs produced and arranged by Sir George Martin and performed by extraordinary stars, including Celine Dion, Sean Connery, Phil Collins, Goldie Hawn, George Martin, Bobby McFerrin, Billy Connolly, Robin Williams, Jeff Beck, Vanessa Mae, John Williams and, last but far from least, Jim Carrey, who performed a stunning version of I Am The Walrus.
Sir George Martin & Mr Jim Carrey
“I first saw Jim in the Batman film, and I thought, ‘Who the hell is that?’ He stole the show for me,” Sir George Martin said. “I didn’t really know how well he could sing until we actually got into the studio.”
What on earth would Lennon have thought of Carrey’s version of his Jabberwockyesque masterpiece “Walrus”?
“I’m not sure what Lennon’s reaction would have been to anything, really,” Martin said.
Martin chuckled. “John was a dreamer, a great dreamer. And I think the images in his mind were always greater than could be possibly realized in real life. He always expected much more of anyone — me, in particular – than anyone was capable of. I think that in his mind, things were perfect. In reality, they were never perfect. Maybe now he’s getting what he wants. I don’t know. But I think probably if he heard the Jim Carrey version, he’d be turning in his grave! And that didn’t worry me at all.”
By Rip Rense, for THE INQUIRER October 19, 1998

Jim Carrey Lands Kaufman Role
When director Milos Forman started casting Man On The Moon, the biopic about the late comedian Andy Kaufman, he decided to try an un-orthodox method, in the spirit of the mischievous Kaufman, who died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of 35. Forman sent a tape of Kaufman’s work to Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Gary Oldman and Hank Azaria, among others, asking each to improvise and make their own tapes.
Variety reports that Forman made the decision after reviewing the videotaped auditions he had requested. Not everyone was pleased with Forman’s audition request: Cage reportedly bristled at having to give a sneak preview of his performance and refused to submit a tape. Although it’s unheard of for an actor in the $20 million bracket being required to audition for a role, Carrey, a longtime fan of the quirky Kaufman, badly wanted to play Kaufman. Jim, who owns Kaufman’s bongo drums, is said to have become Kaufman in his audition tape, going so far as to incorporate the comic’s own bongos into the act.

Jim Honored At APLA Gala
On the February 12th 1998, Jim Carrey, an honoree at the AIDS Project Los Angeles Commitment To Life benefit at the Universal Amphitheatre for his ongoing efforts to fight AIDS, shared a dressing room with award presenters Merv Griffin and Dustin Hoffman plus a baby grand piano. “This guy’s got some chops,” Hoffman told Griffin, pointing to Carrey, who wandered over to the piano. When Griffin started playing When Sunny Gets Blue, Carrey belted out the ’50s standard. Merv was amazed that Jim knew the lyrics: “He hit every high note!” When Carrey was called away to go onstage, Griffin told him, “You have a standing engagement anytime at the Coconut Club”, his new supper club in the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Nicholson’s Tribute To Carrey
Receiving the Golden Globe Award for the “Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical” in 1998, Jack Nicholson paid homage to fellow nominee Jim Carrey by bending over and “talking” with his backside, and…he even turned the tables on Jim Carrey and did a great impersonation of Jim! Not easy.

The Taste Of Troy
In 1998, Jim provided a photograph for an auction at the benefit for the Boys & Girls Club of Troy held at the San Marino Club, in Troy.

Jim & Gym
In November 1997, the Manhattan-based Gym Source shipped a six-piece state-of-the-art workout system to Carrey’s home in Los Angeles. The gear cost him in excess of $20,000.

Jim Carrey At Fashion Awards
On October 24th, 1998, the third annual love-in among the biggest names in music, film and TV, and the absolutely fabulous designers who clothe them, got off to an exuberant start when Jim Carrey, whom the audience did know from Adam, glided on-stage in nothing but a fig leaf and intoned: “This is where fashion began.”

He’s not only a liar, he’s also stolen!
Hollywood producers, Aaron Russo and Heidi Gregg claim that the idea for the film Liar Liar was stolen from them, and they have filed suit against Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment production company to prove it. According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the producers contend that they met with Grazer in New York and told him about their idea for a movie in which the young son of an attorney wishes his father could tell the truth for just one day. They later gave a copy of their screenplay to Grazer, who kept it for almost a year before sending it back with a rejection note. But in March of 1997, Imagine and Universal released Liar Liar, which Russo says is based on his ideas. The suit seeks $25 million in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages. Liar Liar has grossed $181,395,000 at the domestic box office.

Jim Carrey’s Claw!
Anyone who saw Liar Liar knows what the claw is, but maybe doesn’t know that ‘the claw’ impression actually wasn’t in the movie script and wasn’t a Jim Carrey’s idea either. In fact, at Oprah Winfrey show 1997, Jim said he stole ‘the claw’ from his father, Percy: “That was something that my father used to do. He used to chase me around the house, going…Here’s my arm. I don’t know what it is. It’s an itching or some kind of…I see I’m losting control. It’s becoming a claw!!!”

The Scientology Experience
Jim Carrey and buddies Nicolas Cage and Crispin Glover decided to check out the Church of Scientology in Hollywood. Carrey said, “I tell you, that was a scene. The three of us walked in, and these Scientology people thought they’d died and gone to heaven. Crispin said, ‘We’d like to, ah…look at, uh, the training film.’ And they said, ‘Oh, yes, come right this way.’ They led us into this little theater and they showed us the Scientology promotional film and I watched Karen Black and different celebrities with this glazed look in their eyes talking about how Scientology saved their lives, saying things like ‘I’m not workin’, but I’m happy.’ It was completely frightening!!!”

The AFI honors Clint Eastwood
The stars came out in force to honor Clint Eastwood when he received the AFI’s Life Achievement Award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw broke bread with Clint and his fiancée, Dina Ruiz.
Nicolas Cage and Quentin Tarantino were seated nearby, along with Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Gregory Peck, Dustin Hoffman, Ed Harris, Isabella Rossellini, Gary Busey, Joan Collins, James Woods, and Columbia Pictures chairman Mark Canton, who leaned close to Nicholson at one point to say, “You look like a prince.” The evening’s hosts were Rene Russo, Clint’s In the Line of Fire co-star, and Jim Carrey (who arrived with actress girlfriend Lauren Holly) who had small roles in Clint’s films The Dead Pool and Pink Cadillac.
Carrey got off a few good shots at the honoree: “Clint would put his entire performance, his whole soul into his eyes, and let the camera find it–a technique that Marty Feldman strove for all his life.”
Don Rickles got the biggest laughs with lines like, “Clint, you know me–I tell the truth. And from the bottom of my heart…you’re a lousy actor.”
Over the past 30 years, Eastwood has starred in many movies, including; A Fistful Of Dollars, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Dirty Harry and In The Line Of Fire. In 1992, his film Unforgiven won him Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as a nomination for Best Actor.
Thursday, February 29, 1996

Jim Carrey Gets Into Fight With Tourist
While Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly were honeymooning at an exclusive resort in Antigua, West Indies, in November 1996, one of the guests started harassing them. The unidentified man had apparently engaged the comedian in conversation during his stay at the ultra-private getaway, but Carrey became upset when his new buddy took out his video camera and began shooting footage of him and Lauren. Stories differ as to what happened next, with some claiming that Carrey threw a pitcher of cold water on the man, and some claiming that Jim knocked him out. Carrey’s spokeswoman, Marleah Leslie, who admits an argument occurred, denied Carrey hit the man. “The allegations about Jim hitting somebody on the head with a pitcher are totally untrue,” Leslie told the paper. “These people harassed Jim and Lauren repeatedly and continued to shoot video even after they had been asked politely-and repeatedly-to stop.” The incident happened on the last day of the couple’s stay on the island, and sources told that it was Carrey himself who called the cops on the persistent photographer, who was reportedly arrested.

Jim’s Iguana
On Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Jim Carrey demanded the producers hire his personal chef–plus, another one for his pet iguana, Houston. Carrey ponied up half the cost of the iguana help.

Jim Carrey at Mann’s Chinese Theater
Jim Carrey: “I am surprised that all of you came here. But I have to say that the best things in life are undescriptible…Thank you!”
Jim Carrey left an imprint of his hands and feet in wet concrete in the forecourt of Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on November 2, 1995. The public was invited to attend the ceremony, which took place at 12 noon in front of the theater, located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
Carrey was introduced by Clint Eastwood, who starred with Carrey in “The Dead Pool”; Hollywood’s honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, presided as Master of Ceremonies. Jim said it was one of the greatest day in his whole life. He wrote Merily,Merily,Merily,Merily
Jim Carrey: “I wrote that cause it’s kind of my favorite song. I think the people miss the point of this song, ya know.”

No limousine, get a taxi!
Jim Carrey said that he just bought a taxi and he paids a guy to drive it. For him, traveling in limousines is too hard to support because everybody is staring at it. “Cause when a guy gets out of it” he said, “everybody looks and scream. But when someone jumps out of a taxi, who cares, dude!?!”

Jim And Linda Ronstadt
Jim Carrey met Linda Ronstadt when he was 21 and she was 37. “We met at The Comedy Store when she was looking for an opening act. Instead, we took a shine to each other. She’s a very cool lady, very smart, a very good person. We didn’t live together, but I spent a lot of time in ‘the big house.’ For me, it was exciting, going to parties. She taught me how to act older than I was. It was something I knew was never going to amount to anything, but something really good.”

Grampa Jack McGee
Jim Carrey based his In Living Color character, Grampa Jack McGee, an acerbic, racist alcoholic, on his grandfather.
“My grandparents were alcoholics, and my grandfather would get my dad in a corner every Christmas and tell him what a loser he was because he didn’t have a job. My father would just sit there and turn purple with anger. It was horrible for me to watch. My father wouldn’t say anything, because he was such a nice man. But I’m not as nice as my dad. As soon as my grandparents would leave, I’d imitate them. My father would be so relieved, it was as if I pulled the pressure plug when I went into this routine.”

Naked Jim
Jim made a nudie flick in Montreal, in the early ’80’s. He was paid $500 to walk around naked in a scene advertising saunas.